I loved ‘7 Days’ when I read it, so when I knew this was due out I was more than a little excited.
The cover is very similar to ‘7 Days’ and I think it gets the reader focused on the idea of looking beyond the surface to try and explain the actions of some of the characters. The striking image also gives a very clear indication of the nature of the relationship that we are going to read about.
When we first meet Anna, her vulnerability is evident. She seems like a fairly typical Year 9 student in this day and age, but her willingness to desert her friends and interests the minute Will, the Year 11 heart-throb, turns his attention to her was really concerning. As an adult reading this, alarm bells were ringing pretty early on and I could not believe that Anna’s friends would have backed away from her in quite the way that they did.
Though he is a thoroughly unpleasant character in so many ways, Will himself is also revealed to be as vulnerable as Anna – perhaps more so. Allowing us these glimpses into his mind during the novel was something that I feel is quite a brave move. I think that having these shades to the characters made them so much more credible, though I wonder whether it will be seen in quite the same way by teen readers.
This was a book that I raced through. It was not what I’d call a comfortable subject to read about, but it was done very much with young adults in mind. It felt like a book that would give someone things to think about. If it manages to get just one person to move away from this kind of toxic relationship then I would say it’s a good thing.